Taiwan:TIFE showed textile prowess to world: TTRI

The event took place in Taipei from Oct. 14 to 16. It had two parts. A forum on textile integration and innovation was held on Oct. 14 at the Taipei International Convention Center, where two foreign experts gave keynote speeches. They were Peter Pfneisl, president of the European Apparel and Textile Organization (EURATEX), and Thomas Nelson, managing director of VF Asia.

The second part, a still exhibition of innovative textiles, was held at Taipei World Trade Center, Exhibition Hall One, and met with enthusiastic response from visitors, TTRI said.

In addition, dozens of seminars were held throughout the duration of the event, with local and foreign experts sharing their views and insights into the industry.

During the opening ceremony on Oct. 14, Taiwan's progress in textile manufacturing and research and development was touted.

"Some people say the textile industry is a sunset industry. I beg to differ. There may be sunset products, but this industry is not a sunset industry,"said Wang Yea-kang, chairman of TTRI. "It's because of Taiwan's strong ability to integrate resources and innovate products that it was able to produce textiles of high quality and value."

In separate interviews, keynote speakers Pfneisl and Nelson stressed the importance of regional integration.

"Since Austria joined the European Union in 1995, we've created 600,000 new jobs,"the Austrian Pfeisl said.

Nelson said a cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) may be a good thing for Taiwan. He said from his company's perspective, he would be more willing to buy Taiwan products if they were tax-free in China. Otherwise he may be forced to buy from someone else.

TTRI, meanwhile, showcased a wide range of functional textiles at the exhibition.

The heat-conducting diving suit, for example, used the TTRI-developed electro-thermal fiber that could keep the temperature inside the suit at a maximum of 37 degrees Celsius for up to three hours.

The photovoltaic tent had attached to it a solar panel responsible for powering things inside the tent, such as lights, GPS devices and cell phones. The LED yarn, meanwhile, could be made into rugs, dolls, clothes and other textile products that shone.